Celebrating the Queen’s birthday with the British High Commission and Land Rover

Friday, 27 June 2014 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

The British High Commission hosted a cocktail evening to celebrate the Queen’s 88th birthday in Colombo. Land Rover was a proud sponsor of the evening as it holds a special place in the Royal household and its family. Royals and Land Rovers go hand-in-hand. When you see images of the royal family on their vast estates, chances are they’re driving, or being driven in, a Land Rover or Range Rover product.

The Queen herself is famously a Land Rover driver and has been pictured in her sturdy machines for decades. Her own personal transport, the iconic green Land Rover, stayed with her long after other, more luxurious models had been replaced. The royal relationship with Land Rover goes back further, right back to 1948 when King George VI viewed the original Land Rover. He later even ordered one, in 1951 – but died before the special Land Rover was finished. The Queen did still take delivery of her father’s own Land Rover, though – and has used the brand ever since. The car was used by the Queen and Prince Philip on their six-month Commonwealth tour of 1953-54. The Queen – and her new Land Rover – covered 50,000 miles visiting New Zealand and Australia, Africa and Sri Lanka.

“Land Rover was granted its first Royal Warrant in 1951, a year before the Queen ascended the throne. We are honoured and delighted to be celebrating this long and unbroken relationship by supporting the Queen’s birthday celebrations in Colombo. The association of our vehicles with the Royal family is appreciated by our customers around the world and here in Sri Lanka,” said Sheran Fernando, Managing Director, SML Frontier Automotive. Land Rover holds a royal warrant, as supplier to the royal household. Enabling it to use the Royal coat of arms and the words ‘By Appointment to...’ Land Rover holds all four Royal warrants – to the Queen, the Duke of Edinburgh, Prince Charles and the late Queen Mother. The relationship has been cemented by some iconic models over the years, including the famous 1951 Land Rover, said to be one of the Queen’s favourite vehicles and one that she used so much it was even immortalised in film. The relationship continues to this day and Land Rover insiders hint there’s plenty more to come in the years ahead.